NJPW New Japan Cup Semi-Finals
March 19th, 2017 | Act City Hamamatsu in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan
The Quarterfinals of the New Japan Cup took place over the week. Only the tournament matches were shown on NJPW World, so I couldn’t do full reviews. This is what I rated those matches though.
EVIL def. Yuji Nagata - ***
Bad Luck Fale def. Toru Yano – ½*
Katsuyori Shibata def. Juice Robinson - ***¼
Tomohiro Ishii def. SANADA - ***½
David Finlay, Juice Robinson and Tomoyuki Oka def. Hirai Kawato, Katsuya Kitamura and Yuji Ngata in 9:32
It’s my first look at Kitamura. He looks to be in the best shape of any young lion. It was great watching him and Oka go head to head. Juice and Finlay got some work in on Kawato, who brought fire as always. Nagata got the hot tag and it was time for BLUE JUSTICE! Like their singles match a while back, I enjoyed Nagata going at it with Oka. The crowd popped for Nagata slapping the armbar on Juice but with the young lions around, you just knew that wasn’t the finish. Nagata’s team put on triple Boston crabs but it wasn’t the end either. It came down to Juice and Kitamura, with Juice planting him with Pulp Friction. Standard fare for a New Japan opener. The young lions brought energy and everyone got a little shine. **½
Gedo and Jado def. El Desperado and TAKA Michinoku in 7:29
On paper, this is a nightmare. This CHAOS/Suzuki-Gun feud has been mostly terrible. There was some early stalling but once the action got going, they might as well have still been stalling. Gedo took the heat segment, which was better than Jado doing it since he’s better at it. Unfortunately, that left the hot tag spot to Jado. He came in lukewarm at best. Jado might be the blandest guy in NJPW. He’s such a scrub that he still got in trouble after the tag and was in a TAKA submission until Gedo saved him. Jado then hit a DDT on TAKA for the win. This sucked on almost every level. It was sloppy, never flowed and felt like a big waste of time. The bookers are headed towards an IWGP Jr. Tag Title match that will almost certainly suck too. ¼*
Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Jushin Thunder Liger, IWGP Tag Team Champions TenKoji and Tiger Mask IV in 10:00
NEW JAPAN DADS! Just what I need to push shitty Jado from my head. Though Iizuka and Taichi are here too. It’s a Suzuki-Gun match, so within the first few minutes, they all brawled outside. With no commentary, we could clearly hear the ring announcer shout as they did so. It’s so annoying. Once things calmed down, Liger took a lot of the work from Suzuki-Gun. The hot tag came to Kojima before TenKoji did their thing. The crowd ate that up as always. Things brown down again late and poor Tiger Mask was left alone with Suzuki. He got hit with the Gotch style piledriver and that was all. Like most Suzuki-Gun matches since their return, this didn’t do much for me. It got better near the end but most of the early stuff was kind of just there. **
Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, Michael Elgin and Ryusuke Taguchi def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions BUSHI and SANADA, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) in 11:21
I do enjoy these tags but man, we’ve seen a TON of them. Tanahashi and Naito kicked things off to a pop and it led to Naito getting hit with a barrage of offense from everyone on the opposing side. As the match progressed, we were treated to great interactions between SANADA and Elgin. I’d be all for a G1 Climax match involving them this year. There was also another preview of the impending Takahashi/KUSHIDA match (which I assume comes at Sakura Genesis). Those two are great together. I appreciated how a hot tag went to Taguchi, which is different. ASS ATTACKS FOR EVERYONE! It got turned around quickly and he ate four dropkicks at once. BUSHI countered an ass attack into a backslide, but Taguchi turned that into la magistral for the win. Another fine tag involving these guys. It did what it needed to but there are only so many things this combinations of guys can do. ***
CHAOS (NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and YOSHI-HASHI) def. Bullet Club (The Guerillas of Destiny, Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi) in 12:43
I would normally be upset at more Bullet Club vs. CHAOS stuff since their feud has never been interesting but it beats Suzuki-Gun vs. CHAOS at this point. Back to t-shirt and colorful tights Kenny. They did the “Yano is scared of Tama Tonga” stuff early. This followed the typical formula we get in the tags involving these teams. Kenny and Okada took the night off, the Guerillas were their usual selves, Goto looked bored, Yano was Yano and Yujiro sucked. YOSHI took the heat for a while before Goto came in to save the day. There was some Okada/Omega interaction, giving fans a reminder of their Dave “I found things wrong with the match but still gave it six stars to get a reaction online” Meltzer approved WK main event. A bored Okada hit the Rainmaker on Yujiro to end it. Ho-hum stuff here. Nobody brought anything of note to the table and it lacked something to make it a multi-man tag worth viewing. **¼
New Japan Cup Semi-Finals: Bad Luck Fale def. EVIL in 12:17
These two brawled to the outside instantly. I liked how EVIL went for his signature steel chair spot, only for Fale to block it. EVIL’s not used to wrestling guys this big. Fale beat him up in the crowd, slamming him into a wall and throwing a guardrail on him. EVIL beat the count but continued to take a beat down until clotheslining Fale outside. EVIL got the chair spot to work this time before getting two on a flying clothesline. The Bullet Club and LIDJ got involved, with BUSHI misting Fale before Tama Tonga fought him to the back. Left alone again, Fale hit the Grenade and then the Bad Luck Fall to advance to the finals. I’d much rather Gedo have used this to send EVIL to the finals. Still, this was a solid brawl and about the best you could ask for from these two. **¾
By the way, after rewatching Omega/Ishii, I bumped it down from ****¾ to ****½. Still fantastic, but not an all-time classic. I did the same bump down for Takahashi/Lee at New Beginning.
New Japan Cup Semi-Finals: Katsuyori Shibata def. Tomohiro Ishii in 22:34
I’ve said it before but for my money, this is the best rivalry in wrestling. Yes, even over Okada/Tanahashi. I’ve never given a match between these guys less than ****¼. This got off to a more tentative start than usual, but it made sense. They know each other well and didn’t want to be the first to make a mistake. Don’t worry though, within three or so minutes, the hard strikes came rushing in. The camera zoomed in on a particular forearm exchange that just looked brutal. Ishii got a busted nose from it, but put Shibata on his ass. Like their New Beginning match last year, Shibata looked for a few submissions. He had control and kicked away at Ishii’s head like a dick. Ishii avoided a kick and hit a German, setting up a rally that saw him get two on a powerbomb. Shibata refused to stay down on lariats until about the fifth one. These bad motherfuckers eventually reached a point where they sat across from each other and slapped the shit out of one another. Ishii blocked the PK and locked in an armbar, which we don’t see often from him. Shibata made the ropes, so Ishii lit him up with kicks. The final few minutes just saw them go to war. Shibata hit the PK and instead of covering, went back to the sleeper. Ishii fought but passed out and the referee called for the bell. In a great moment, after it was over, Ishii woke up ready to fight more, not realizing it was over. It’s what we’ve seen from these two in the past and I’m totally fine with that. Ishii was the MVP of another tournament, while Shibata brought his A game too. This felt like an important fight between two bad dudes. The finals can’t live up to that. It’s like when the Kings/Lakers played before the Nets/Lakers finals. You knew which was the real finals. Ishii continues to amaze and is right behind AJ Styles as the best wrestler in the world in my eyes. This wasn’t quite as good as their WK10 or G1 Climax 23 matches, but on par with the New Beginning one last year. ****½
Bad Luck Fale vs. Katsuyori Shibata will be the finals tomorrow. I’ve given their past matches ***½ and **½. This could be a double-edged sword though. If Fale wins, we get another shitty and dull Okada/Fale match. If Shibata wins, he’ll most likely job to Okada, which I would hate since I love Shibata and dislike Okada. I know they could challenge for the IC or NEVER Title but I don’t see it happening here.
Overall: 6/10. This show when the way I expected. The focus was on the two semi-final matches, with the rest of the card playing out like a “Road to” show. Fale/EVIL was solid but the main event is honestly all you truly need to see from this show. The rest of the show is an easy skip though.
ROH Manhattan Mayhem VI
March 4th, 2017 | Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York
I gave up on ROH midway through 2016. I was convinced to check out their 15th Anniversary Show and was pleasantly surprised, so I’m choosing to review this event as well. The original Manhattan Mayhem is widely considered one of the best ROH shows of all time. It took a few years before they did Manhattan Mayhem II, which I attended live and loved. I also attended MMIII, but was less impressed. This will be the first Manhattan Mayhem event I watch since then.
I just love the look of the Hammerstein Ballroom. I had to say it.
Christopher Daniels def. TK O’Ryan w/ The Kingdom in 4:16
Before the match, Daniels cut a promo where he name dropped a ton of past ROH stars and hyped his upcoming ROH World Title shot. He got interrupted by the Kingdom and Matt Taven ran his mouth. Daniels started a fight but Taven sent O’Ryan in instead. TK had the advantage thanks to help form the Kingdom. They interrupted a Daniels near fall but Vinny mistakenly hit TK. Daniels knocked Taven off the apron and won with the Best Moonsault Ever. Fine for an impromptu opener. The crowd loved Daniels and it was kept short. **
Dalton Castle w /The Boys def. Colt Cabana in 9:26
Heel Colt Cabana is always a strange sight. Castle was ridiculously over. They started with decent mat work before going the comedy route. Though Cabana is a heel, he can still elicit a chuckle or two by cashing the Boys around and picking out feathers. Dalton’s comeback was fun and had the crowd going nuts. Colt applied the Billy Goat’s Curse submission but Castle escaped thanks to some fanning from the Boys. Cabana shoved them outside where they took a nasty spill. Dalton hit Bang-a-Rang and secured the win. Fun since both guys tend to bring a good chunk of entertainment to their matches. It also accomplished the goal of getting Castle a win heading into an ROH World Title match at Supercard of Honor. **½
ROH World Television Championship: Marty Scurll (c) def. Sonjay Dutt in 12:12
If I were booking ROH, I’d have Scurll as ROH Champion before the end of 2017. He’s special and stands out as a star in a company lacking in that department. This came about because Scurll wanted new challenges. It’s Dutt’s first ROH match in over four years. As usual with most Scurll matches, he targeted the shoulder to set up the chicken wing. It always looks delightfully vicious. Sonjay figured it out after a bit and turned things around before hitting a moonsault to the outside. Dutt’s offense was good but never quite enough. Scurll survived a German and when he went for the finish, Dutt had it scouted. He hit a superkick and tornado DDT for two. The finished ruled. After getting his fingers snapped, Dutt hit a superkick and tried the tornado DDT again. Scurll found a way to counter that into the chicken wing to retain. This was a damn good match with Dutt showing that he could still go. Scurll’s limb work was well done and I liked how most of Dutt’s offense didn’t involve him having to no sell it.***½
Dragon Lee def. Will Ospreay in 11:56
When the card was announced, I saw people more excited about this than any other match. You had to expect a freakishly athletic back and forth here and they delivered that within the opening exchange. They surprised me with a bit of mat work towards the middle. Lee busted out an impressive trio of Northern lights suplexes before they went back to the high flying stuff. Lee again impressed with sick spot where he jumped over the top and caught Ospreay with a rana. There were too many highlights to list here. Both guys brought out the big guns. In the end, Lee countered the Oscutter into Desnucadora to earn the win. Insane match with great spots. Like the Ricochet/Ospreay series, it felt like they were trying to one up each other throughout. I liked the finish and the match went the right length. ***¾
ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (c) def. Jay White and Lio Rush in 11:00
I loathe the Young Bucks, but I’m big on both Rush and White. The Bucks are still stupid popular for reasons I’ll never understand. They started hot, looking like the experienced team against the young singles guys teaming up. Surprisingly, it was some miscues by the champions that opened the door for White and Rush to turn things around. I must point out a particularly cool spot where Rush blocked an X-Factor with a handstand, which I’ve never seen before. The challengers treated the Bucks to a superkick party of their own. In the end, Rush cut off the Meltzer Driver only to get himself into trouble. He fell to the Indytaker and Meltzer Driver as the Bucks retained. Similar to the previous match, it was spot heavy. Rush and White looked great together and were the highlights. ***¼
The lights went out and the crowd lost their minds for the arrival of the Broken Hardys. The fans erupted with “DELETE” chants. They challenged the Bucks for the titles and it was accepted.
ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Hardys def. The Young Bucks (c) in 8:24
To a pop, the teams traded “DELETE” and “SUCK IT” taunts. Though the Bucks just wrestled, all four men worked this at a crazy pace. They crammed a lot into the sub-ten minute timeframe. The Bucks came close with stereo 450 splashes at one point. Matt got a hot tag to more loud “DELETE” chants. He was stopped with a buckle bomb/kick combo. The Bucks mocked the Hardys with a Twist of Fate/Swanton combination but Jeff broke up the pin. As the Bucks looked near victory, Jeff shoved Nick off the top and through a table. It left Matt alone to fall to the Twist of Fate/Swanton combo for new champions. Another wild match with a brisk pace. The crowd was hotter for this than anything else on the show and the moment of the Hardys appearing and winning the title was great. ***¼
Post-match, Matt cut a promo about leaving the dreadful TNA and how people thought they’d sign with the dastardly MEEKMAN! They hyped being on the ROH PPV and having the titles now before singing the obsolete song to a huge ovation.
Matt Taven won the Honor Royal in 15:12
The winner earns a future ROH World Title shot. Participants included Cheeseburger, Chris Sabin, Punishment Martinez, Kenny King, Hanson, Ray Rowe, Rhett Titus, Beer City Bruiser, Shaheem Ali, Sho, Silas Young, Vinny Marsegila, Yoehi, Will Ferrara, Leon St. Giovanni and Matt Taven. Silas was a surprise entrant, since he’d been on commentary all night. Like most battle royals, there wasn’t much to this. Cheeseburger had some fun moments as he survived elimination over and over. In the end, Vinny and Taven stood against Sabin. As Sabin and Vinny battled, Taven snuck up and dumped them both out to win. I appreciated that Taven was willing to eliminate his buddy for a title shot but he’s incredibly uninteresting as a talent. At least the Daniels stuff at the start of the show has added value since Daniels goes on to win the title and Taven has a shot. The battle royal was standard fare and kind of just there. *¾
Bullet Club (Cody, Frankie Kazarian and Hangman Page) def. The Briscoes and Jay Lethal in 15:29
This looked like a strange blend of guys on paper. There were more than a few teases for Lethal/Cody at Supercard of Honor. Cody beat Lethal at Final Battle and turned heel. It only took a few minutes, but the match became a brawl with action spilling all over ringside. Cody only wanted in against Lethal when he was already down. After Lethal took the heat for a while, the match broke down into something wild again. That’s kind of a theme on this card. The Page/Jay Briscoe rivalry reignited down the stretch, which commentary did a good job in mentioning. After their interaction, we finally got Cody and Lethal going at it. Jay kicked out of a Cross Rhodes before Cody got hit a flurry of offense. A superplex, froggy bow and elbow from Lethal nearly ended it but the pin was broken up. From out of nowhere, Kazarian rolled up Mark to steal it. A fun multi-man tag that did well to build a future match and play on past rivalries. ***
ROH World Championship: Adam Cole (c) def. Bobby Fish in 18:40
I don’t care for Cole, but I like Fish. Christopher Daniels joined commentary and was great throughout. Cole stalled in the early stages. Though he’s popular with the New York crowd, Cole did a good job trying to draw heat by flipping them off and faking out “too sweets”. Fish’s offensive focus was on the knees. He attacked both, allowing him to try the Fish Hook on either leg. I always like how Fish can work a body part, but if you start defending it, he switches and has no problem going after a different part. He did that when working an armbreaker. Fish DID THE SUPER DEAL but it wasn’t enough. He applied the Fish Hook only for Cole to counter into a rollup that sealed it. A solid main event but it lacked something to take it to the next level. I liked Fish’s approach to the match. I also appreciated how he was protected by the finish. ***
After the match, the Bullet Club ran in and beat up Bobby Fish. The Briscoes got involved and also got jumped. That led to the debuting Bully Ray making his ROH debut to a positive reaction. He put Cole through a table, evened the odds and cut a promo about choosing ROH over other companies because they most closely resemble ECW. The crowd ate that segment up.
Overall: 7/10. A good show from top to bottom by ROH. I’ve heard bad things about the weekly TV show and they lost some talented guys, but they’re two for two in entertaining VOD/PPV shows. This was a key show that introduced Bully Ray and had the big moment of the Hardys showing up. Ospreay/Lee, Scurll/Dutt and the two Tag Title matches are all strong. Only the battle royal bored me and everything else was relatively good.
Shine 41
March 10th, 2017 | The Orpheum in Ybor City, Florida
After missing Shine 40 due to injury, Ivelisse had to forfeit her Shine Championship. LuFisto defeated Mercedes Martinez and Allysin Kay to win the title. Now, at Shine 41, Ivelisse is back and gets a shot at the title.
Sparkle Showcase: Aria Blake def. Lindsay Snow in 4:08
Blake has appeared on FIP a few times recently, while Snow had a lot of tattoos and sports a mask. I’ve never seen the latter before. The crowd was quiet for most of this, despite the efforts of the women involved. Blake showed off an impressive modified dragon sleeper while Snow was trapped in the apron. However, she messed up more than a few bumps. As Snow seemed poised to win, Candy Cartwright distracted her and allowed Blake to steal it. I guess they’ll be a new team. This simply wasn’t good. ¾*
Lenny Leonard informed fans that Tessa Blanchard couldn’t make it to the show for her match with Thea Trinidad. Out came Brandi Lauren to say she is gonna make herself a star at Thea’s expense. She was such a nice girl at the last Shine show.
Aerial Monroe def. Priscilla Kelly in 7:59
Monroe had a solid match at the last Shine show. Kelly is prominent in FIP as part of Uncle John’s Friends and has recently appeared in Evolve. There were several awkward moments early as they tried getting a feel for one another. Kelly did good character work including mannerisms and an interesting spot where she literally just bit Monroe’s neck. Monroe doesn’t like having her hair messed with, so Kelly grinded it into her crotch. Kelly held serve for the most part but fell to Monroe’s Dirty Dancing (roaring elbow or sorts). Fun for Kelly’s antics but most of the stuff they did either looked weak or didn’t click the way it should’ve. **
Malia Hosaka came out and scolded Priscilla Kelly. She said she had no respect for women who come in looking like Kelly, except for the late Luna Vachon. She told Kelly to go back to school and figure out who she is.
Malia Hosaka def. Angel Rose in 6:32
After calling herself the “Modern Day Moolah”, Hosaka faced the young Angel Rose. Angel started hot but the veteran grounded her and made it work to the pace she prefers. She did a lot of old school heel stuff and was always one step ahead of Rose. Malia countered an enziguri and hit a body slam. She them calmly sat on Angel’s shoulders and pulled her legs into a winning pin. This was awkward and had a terrible finish. It was incredibly anti-climactic and the match was dull. At least they tried telling a decent story. *
Priscilla Kelly returned and whined about Malia treating the young girls like crap. She challenged Malia to a match at Shine 42 and they had to be held back by officials.
Thea Trinidad def. Brandi Lauren in 9:03
This was, as noted earlier, the replacement for Tessa Blanchard vs. Thea Trinidad. Thea did some AJ Lee skipping in a nod to the role she’ll be playing in an upcoming film about Paige. Brandi is new to Shine but you’d think Thea was the rookie. She flubbed an early spot and then had more than a few sloppy moves in the early goings. Brandi looked better on offense, especially on a sitout face buster into a modified camel clutch. She nearly stole it with her feet on the ropes but the referee caught her. Continuing the AJ Lee stuff, Thea applied an octopus hold, though it wasn’t enough. Thea eventually won after a moonsault. I wasn’t too impressed by Thea, but I think there’s potential in Brandi. She looked good here and I’m intrigued by her future in Shine. **¼
Four Way Fray: Amanda Carolina Rodriguez w/ La Rosa Negra def. Dynamite Didi, Jayme Jameson and Leva Bates in 8:45
Leva dressed as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Not one of her better cosplays to me. This was Didi’s Shine debut, though I saw her in FIP recently. Like most four-way matches, this was chaotic at times. Surprisingly, Leva worked with ACR before ACR took out Didi and Jameson with a double suicide dive. Leva took out her three opponents with a dive off the bar. She shouted something beforehand that took forever and was too hard to make out. She did something similar before a middle rope dropkick. Leva also had fun with a stake she brought out before hitting an RKO OUTTA NOWHERE. ACR kicked Didi in the head to take the win shortly after. Like most of the show, this had some sloppy moments. However, they worked hard to make it fun and I found myself enjoying this by the time it ended. **¼
Su Yung def. Candy Cartwright w/ Aria Blake in 14:09
Candy and Aria feared Su from the start. Su Yung is one of the most popular women on this roster. They did a ton of Candy and Aria running away from Yung. I’m talking a lot of shenanigans. Candy got in some offense for a bit, only for Yung to bite her to break free of a bow and arrow submission. Aria stopped Yung from using a chair, which allowed Candy to come off the stage with a cross body. Yung came back with a strange looking apron backbreaker. Candy did a matrix style move to avoid an attack, but it didn’t look good, then she hit a decent looking Northern lights suplex. I was confused. After what felt like an eternity, Yung won with the Panic Switch. This went on for far too long. Yung is good, but Candy just dragged this way down. *¼
Shine Tag Team Championship: Chelsea Green and Santana Garrett (c) def. Kennadi Brink and Vanessa Kraven w/ Amber O’Neal in 11:18
Santana’s partner Gabi was out, so Chelsea is her interim replacement. Chelsea has mostly played a heel in Shine, but acted babyface to team with Santana. They explained the pairing as simply the two of them being friends. Kraven is a big woman, so it took two women to take her down. Chelsea took the heat for her team, which made sense. Santana’s hot tag was fun and she showed off some of her talent. The fact that WWE hasn’t signed her yet is mind boggling. The challengers nearly picked up the win on a kick and small package before Santana retained with the Shining Star Press. This was solid and the best thing on the show so far. They worked tag formula well and the crowd ended up cheering for Chelsea as the match progressed. ***
Allysin Kay and Mercedes Martinez wrestled to a time limit draw in 20:00
Both women were part of the three-way to determine a new Shine Champion at Shine 40. They came up short and this match would help determine a new top contender. They started by working a methodical pace on the mat. Kay held the advantage, so Martinez went for bigger offense only to have three amigas countered. As things progressed, more physicality was added in between the mat work. Kay continued to have the upper hand, nearly making Mercedes tap several times. Kay grew desperate, going for multiple pin attempts. Commentary noted how she’s come close often but never quite won titles or top contender matches. Kay finally hit the discus lariat but Martinez got her foot on the ropes. She delivered the pounce but time expired. They did a good job showcasing how Kay had Martinez’s number at times, but couldn’t get the job done. Her dejection at the time expiring was great. Best of all, it felt like they were fighting for something important. ***½
The women begrudgingly shook hands after the bell.
Shine Championship: LuFisto (c) def. Ivelisse in 14:52
Ivelisse attacked instantly and they brawled around the arena. C4 showed up to distract Ivelisse. Though her friends tried to even the odds, it still opened the door for LuFisto to apron powerbomb her halfway out of her shorts. Once back inside, LuFisto grinded away and wore down the former champion. Ivelisse fought back with a series of kicks to the chest. They slugged it out as the match had an intense feel to it. They traded big offensive blows while ACR, Ivelisse’s stablemate grabbed a chair. The cameras completely missed it but ACR took out their La Rosa Negra with the chair and high fived Amber O’Neal. The distraction was enough for LuFisto to win with Burning Hammer. Good main event with an intense, hard hitting feel to it. ***¼
Kid Cadet interviewed LuFisto, who said it was good to be an honest and defending champion. She said she can beat anyone with the Burning Hammer. The lights went out and slow music began to play. A spotlight appeared by the entrance, where two women came out. They handed an envelope to LuFisto. The music stopped, they left and LuFisto made Kid Cadet read it. The note told LuFisto to be ready for the red wedding at the WWN Super Show. The lights cut out again and when they came back on Su Yang appeared in the ring. Blood poured from the ceiling onto her and a frightened LuFisto left.
Overall: 4.5/10. Not one of the better Shine shows. Most of the first half of the show severely lacks in quality. Lots of sloppiness from several workers. However, there is some good out there. The four way fray was rather fun and I was impressed with Brandi Lauren. The last three matches is where the show steps up with all being strong outings. I liked the different and out there closing segment to set up the next title match. They also did well to set future angles up with ACR’s turn and the advancement of Kay’s overall arc.
ROH 15th Anniversary Show
March 10th, 2017 | Sam’s Town Live Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
After the debacle that was Global Wars last May, I gave up on ROH. I only caught a select few matches and lost all interest in the company. Since then, the company has lost several stars (including Kyle O’Reilly, who I love) and put the title on a guy I don’t think is all that good (Adam Cole). However, I’ve heard good things about this show and had several requests to do this review, so I’ll give it a shot
Right off the bat, I did like the opening video. It showcased the better days of ROH and the history of the company. The commentary trio is Kevin Kelly, Ian Riccaboni and Colt Cabana. Riccaboni seems poised to take over as the main play-by-play guy when Kelley leaves.
Jay White def. Kenny King w/ Caprice Coleman in 9:49
Kenny King is now part of a group called the Rebellion. Jay White is from the New Japan Dojo. I miss him on NJPW shows. They worked some solid early back and forth before a few kicks came off looking awkward. White busted out Kokeshi, getting a pop for the Tomoaki Honma tribute. After a King dive outside, White fired off stuff inside before taking out Coleman with a suicide dive. More back and forth inside led to a strike exchange. They did battle up top and White hit a cross body. King rolled through but got pulled into a small package. This was a solid way to start the show. Both guys put in a good effort and White is one of the best at kicking off a show. ***
Number One Contender’s Six Man Mayhem: Frankie Kazarian def. Cheeseburger, Chris Sabin, Hangman Page, Punishment Martinez and Silas Young in 10:11
These matches are commonplace on ROH cards. Page and Kazarian represented the Bullet Club. Right from the start, it was action. Cheeseburger was too weak for his dive outside to take out three guys, so Martinez followed with a sick somersault to finish the job. It was impressive as hell for a guy his size. He got to play the dominant role at times, as it took several guys to take him down. Each guy was given a chance to get their stuff in and the pace never slowed. At the end of another wild flurry, Kazarian won with the Ace of Spades on Cheeseburger, earning a TV Title shot. My expectations were exceeded. It was wild, the fans were loud for each guy and everyone brought it. Fun stuff. ***¼
Jay Lethal def. Bobby Fish in 15:07
They hyped this as a “top contender’s match”. Lethal’s entrance pyro looks so bad. If you don’t have the budget to make it look good, simply don’t do it. Fish quickly grew tired of mat work and just kicked the shit out of Lethal, sending him outside. Lethal kind of returned the favor and cockily held the ropes open for Fish to get back in. Fish wanted none of that and kicked Lethal’s leg before avoiding a suicide dive and sending him into the guardrail. They clearly had each other well scouted. Fish took the opportunity to attack Lethal’s chest. Wisely, Lethal only tried another suicide dive towards the aisle, where there was no guardrail. He did get dumped on his head inside as the match got more intense. Lethal, again showing brains, held the ropes to block a Fish move and quickly hit a cutter. Somehow, Fish countered an elbow drop into the Fish Hook but Jay survived. Fish kept avoiding Lethal Injection, including an awesome one where he caught Jay in the Fish Hook. Again, Jay survived and they went into a strike exchange before the Lethal Injection hit to end it. Awesome match. It felt like it mattered and the stuff they did was smart. Working the chest is different and they organically made sure it made sense, playing off Fish having Lethal well scouted. No bullshit here. Just two of the company’s top guys in a straight up wrestling match with a clean finish. ****¼
ROH Six Man Tag Team Championship: The Kingdom (c) def. Dalton Castle and the Boys in 7:49
I have a soft spot for Castle and the Boys. The Kingdom are the exact opposite. Maria Kanellis was the only good thing about the original group and it’s now led by bland Matt Taven. Dalton and the Boys ran wild early, hitting twin dives and getting the crowd going. The Kingdom regrouped and took over, beating on the Boys. The champs worked some mildly interesting tandem offense. The Boys used twin magic to make the hot tag to Dalton. He did his thing before the Boys got in trouble. They may have rushed the finish because O’Ryan broke his shin on an Asai moonsault that landed on the guardrail. The other Kingdom members won with an assisted powerbomb. The weakest thing on the show so far, but still a bit of fun. **½
ROH World Television Championship: Marty Scurll (c) def. Lio Rush in 18:32
Other than wanting to see if Christopher Daniels would win the World Title, this was what I wanted to see most on the card. Rush earned the show with a win over Scurll in a 2/3 falls match. He used his speed to overwhelm Scurll early, seemingly having his number. Scurll was as villainous as ever, nailing every character moment. He targeted Rush’s hand and arm. One spot stood out when Marty went for his signature finger break and everyone went quiet. Lio stopped it with a slap that sounded brutal thanks to the silence. Marty continued the assault on the arm, but Rush again had him scouted and countered some of his best shots. Rush’s offense worked, until he tried lifting Scurll and his arm gave out. They threw bombs before Scurll applied the chicken wing. Rush escaped with a cradle for two and then kicked out of a piledriver! Lio nailed Rush Hour but it wasn’t enough. Frustrated, he went to use the TV Title as a weapon. He thought better of it and hit Dragon’s Claw for a near fall that most fans bit on. Lio set up chairs outside and looked to superplex Scurll there. Scurll got free, hit Tower of London and put the chicken wing back on. He also removed Lio’s shoulder tape and delivered elbows to retain. Best Lio match since the Lethal one last year. Scurll looked like a complete badass, while Lio showed a ton of fire as the underdog babyface. Both men delivered and played their roles well. Lio threw everything he had at Scurll but it wasn’t enough. Marty is so great working with athletic high flyers. ****
The Briscoes and Bully Ray def. Davey Boy Smith Jr. and War Machine in 11:44
This was originally supposed to see the Briscoes against the Killer Elite Squad, but Lance Archer is on the shelf. DBS teaming with War Machine is just odd considering he’s in Suzuki-Gun. The six men brawled at the bell but it quickly calmed down to a normal tag. The babyface team had fun with the WAZZUP spot and getting the tables. War Machine took over and looked to hit Fallout but DBS tagged himself in, leading to an argument. Bully Ray got a hot tag but the Briscoes also got in a bunch of stuff. All three members hit cross bodies, with Bully being last up and taking everyone out. Hanson took a Jay Driller and Froggy Bow, while Rowe ate a triple team 3D and that was all. A fun brawl that played to the strengths of everyone but Smith. Smith’s inclusion at least allowed for some angle build. ***
ROH World Tag Team Championship Las Vegas Street Fight: The Hardys (c) def. Roppongi Vice and The Young Bucks in 17:12
TNA sent out a cease and desist letter to the Hardys earlier in the day, claiming they owned the rights to the “Broken Universe”. To get around any legal issues, ROH had the champs appear in the ring, never used their “Broken” or “Brother Nero” names and having the fans chant “DELETE” instead of Matt and Jeff. I’m not about to try and do some play-by-play for this. It was wild though. At times, RPG Vice felt like an afterthought since the focus was on the Hardys/Bucks rivalry. Ladders were brought in and then RPG Vice took over. At one point, Beretta pushed Nick’s ladder over, but he just bounced off the ropes into a dive onto a pile outside. Insane Rocky pulled out a thumbtack covered sleeve and hit the FOREVER clotheslines. Poor Beretta took an electric chair drop into the tacks, then had some placed in his mouth where he took a superkick. That dude takes all the bumps. In the end, it was Beretta taking another bump by eating a swanton off a ladder through a table and getting pinned. Not everyone’s cup of tea but I expected an insane brawl full of huge bumps and I got that. RPG Vice were EASILY the MVPs of this match. They were the most fun, took the biggest bumps and had the best spots. ****
ROH World Championship: Christopher Daniels def. Adam Cole (c) in 21:48
It’s been years and I still don’t see the appeal in Adam Cole. Daniels’ 0-8-1 record in ROH World Title matches was brought up. That’s similar to Hirooki Goto in IWGP Heavyweight Title matches. For the most part, the match followed an easy story. The overconfident champion was a dick to the veteran who always came up just short. Cole seemingly didn’t take Daniels seriously. Daniels got busted open and had to fight from behind. It helped move things along following a slow start. Daniels would come close but couldn’t quite finish the job. He busted out a Styles Clash in honor of his buddy AJ Styles for the best near fall of the match. It’s ROH though, so there had to be a ref bump. This set up a Kazarian run in. He teased hitting Daniels only to reveal he was loyal to him all along. Daniels planted Cole and hit the BME three times to finally win a World Title. They handled most of the match well and told a simple but effective story. Best Cole match since working AJ Styles in 2015. I wasn’t a fan of the finish or the Kazarian angle in general but the feel good moment in the end was well done. ***¾
Daniels got the big celebration and absolutely deserved it. Plus, it got the title off Cole, so there’s that. To make things cooler, they not only gave Daniels the World Title but also handed the original ROH Title from the early days of the company.
Overall: 8.5/10. That blew away my decidedly low expectations. ROH lost a lot of talent in a short time and their booking is typically bad. They got most things right on this show though. This is what I want from ROH. A show with good matches up and down the card with logical booking. There are still acts I don’t like getting pushed (Bucks, Cole, Kingdom) to be honest. However, almost everyone delivered in their matches. Scurll/Rush and Fish/Lethal were the standout matches but there was nothing on the card.
NJPW New Japan Cup Night Two
March 12th, 2017 | Amagaski Baycom Gymnasium in Amagaski, Hyogo, Japan
Night one was one of the worst New Japan shows in recent memory. The card for this show looks much better though, so there’s hope. Manabu Nakanishi missed the show with the flu, so the undercard got shuffled around a bit.
Jushin Thunder Liger and Yuji Nagata def. David Finlay and Tiger Mask IV in 5:45
Originally, this was set to feature Nakanishi with Tiger Mask but Finlay is replacing him. That also meant Finlay vs. Oka was scratched. I don’t know why exactly, but it’s always weird when I see Liger and Tiger Mask on opposite sides. The best parts of this involved Finlay, despite Tiger looking more fired up than usual. He did get lit up by some Nagata kicks though. Nagata ate the Tiger Driver but Liger broke up the pin. Liger sent Finlay out and Nagata tried an ankle lock. He transitioned to the armbar and Tiger Mask tapped. Solid little tag to get things going. Nothing more, nothing less. **¼
The Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale and the Guerillas of Destiny) def. Hirai Kawato and IWGP Tag Team Champions TenKoji in 6:16
If I never see Tanga Roa work another singles match, it’ll still be too soon. We got the standard Bullet Club pre-match attack. It was slightly different though, since Kawato was jumped during TenKoji’s entrance. That pissed off the champs, who responded with offense until Fale took them down. Tenzan took a shot heat, with Tonga making the mistake of head-butting Tenzan. It’s like head-butting a Samoan but worse. Kojima came in and did his thing. Kawato eventually got the tag and ran wild but you knew what was coming. Roa put him down with a Rikishi driver that Kawato sold the hell out of. Better than I thought it would be thanks to Kawato being a nutcase and TenKoji being awesome. Maybe the Guerillas are the first challengers for the dads. **¼
Los Ingobernables de Japon (NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions BUSHI & EVIL, IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi and IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, Michael Elgin and Ryusuke Taguchi in 9:56
Tanahashi and his lads against LIDJ again. KUSHIDA/Takahashi and EVIL/Tanahashi both came face to face during introductions. The latter pairing nearly started things, but EVIL decided against it and tagged BUSHI before LIDJ jumped Tanahashi. This led to a brawl around the ring involving everyone. Naito had the highlight by spanking Taguchi. The underhanded tactics led to Tanahashi getting worked over in the early stages. Elgin got the hot tag and hit everything moving. We saw a preview of KUSHIDA/Takahashi as their exchanges continue to be great. Things broke down near the end and Taguchi nearly scored an upset over EVIL. EVIL turned things around and pinned him after the STO. Yea, this happens a lot but it’s always entertaining. Some of the pairings are still just fresh enough to be fun and different (Tanahashi/BUSHI, KUSHIDA/Naito, etc.) and it’s just fun. Still, mixing things up occasionally will only help these shows. ***¼
CHAOS (Gedo, NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto, Jado, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano) def. Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado, TAKA Michinoku, Takashi Iizuka and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) in 10:19
I’ve seen LIDJ vs. Tanahashi and his buddies a ton and it’s still infinitely more fun than these matches. And there’s no Suzuki here, which only makes matters worse. Of course, Suzuki-Gun attacked before the bell and we got a brawl outside. The problem was that with no Minoru or Davey Boy, Suzuki-Gun is weak as hell. Their offense was shit and the CHAOS guys didn’t exactly bring it either. Gedo made the hot ag and Okada worked Taichi like yesterday. It wasn’t good. Goto got some shine too and then Yano came in, but instantly got beat up. Still, he used a low blow and beat Desperado. Most guys either sucked (Iizuka, Taichi, Jado) or slept walked through this (Goto, Okada) and it never worked. I damn near fell asleep. *¼
New Japan Cup First Round: Juice Robinson def. Yujiro Takahashi in 10:21
Why the hell did they change Yujiro’s theme? Early on, the match moved outside where Yujiro hit a fisherman buster only for Juice to beat the count back in. You gotta tease those countouts. They messed up a snapmare spot and Juice’s neck twisted in awful ways. Juice is good at taking a beating and garnering sympathy, but Yujiro’s offense is so damn bland. Yujiro had answers for Juice’s rally attempt, countering Pulp Friction into a reverse DDT for two. Juice avoided Tokyo Pimps but missed the corner cannonball. Juice still got a near fall on a powerbomb before hitting Pulp Friction to win. Yujiro’s heat segment sucked. Other than that, I enjoyed this and Juice brought a lot of fire. The crowd is reacting very well to him and has improved far beyond what I expected. That Yujiro segment just took up too much of the match though. **¾
New Japan Cup First Round: SANADA def. YOSHI-HASHI in 13:54
I’ve honestly wanted this match for almost a year now. These two lit it up against each other during the awesome LIDJ/CHAOS wars last year. I thought it would happen in the G1 but they were in separate blocks. To start, they tried one upping each other and SANADA used his athleticism for the first advantage. After some exchanges, they traded slaps, forearms and uppercuts in the center of the ring. Skull End got applied but YOSHI reached the ropes. YOSHI hit a shoulder breaker, looking to possibly set up the butterfly lock. It became SANADA’s turn to break a submission with the ropes. Their final stretch saw some great counters, including SANADA turning Karma into Skull End, only for YOSHI to get free of that with an arm drag. SANADA then moonsaulted into Skull End, getting the victory. This felt like something I’d see in the G1 Climax, which is what I wanted. They worked a very good, compact match with good counters, smooth work and some hard strikes. ***¾
New Japan Cup First Round: Katsuyori Shibata def. Minoru Suzuki in 19:44
The second Minoru Suzuki returned to NJPW, this is the match I wanted above all others. They mixed in grappling with some strikes in the beginning, working a bit of a subdued style. That didn’t last long though and they were wailing away on each other soon after. Outside, shitty Taichi got some cheap shots in. They fought through the crowd, with Suzuki choking Shibata with a chair. Suzuki held serve inside until Shibata awoke and fired off a series of strikes. I’m not exaggerating when I say it might’ve been the most corner forearms I’ve ever seen Shibata hit. Suzuki looked to wear him down again but Shibata reached the ropes to break an abdominal stretch. An exchange of strikes went down in the middle of the ring that ended when they ran into each other with kicks. Suzuki slapped on a sleeper and Shibata faded. He blocked the Gotch style piledriver before hitting an STO and German suplex. They traded sleeper attempts before Shibata hit the DVD and PK to advance. Not quite the war I was hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, this was still a damn good match with a great finishing stretch, but the early goings didn’t click with me. The dead crowd (they’ve been that way all show) didn’t help matters. One good thing is that it felt like the first in a series of matches, so maybe there’s better matches on the horizon. ***¾
New Japan Cup First Round: Tomohiro Ishii def. Kenny Omega in 29:46
No t-shirt or funky color tights tonight. Kenny Omega means business. After getting overpowered, Omega traded strikes with Ishii. They went to the floor and teased a One Winged Angel, but Ishii slipped free only to take a reverse rana out there. From there, Omega focused on the shoulder, including on a body slam on the apron. He talked shit while having the upper hand, angering Ishii. Ishii got an opening with a powerslam before garnering a near fall on a brainbuster. A little while later, they battled up top where Ishii busted out a GODDAMN SUPER RANA! WHAT AM I WATCHING? Omega landed badly on a German trying to land on his feet but then gets walloped by a lariat. Kenny came back with a brainbuster on the knee and his trademark tope con hilo. He didn’t dot the Terminator nonsense, but the fans clapped it for him. Omega hit a superkick and V-Trigger, yet Ishii kicked out, which he did again after a gutwrench powerbomb. Ishii again avoided the One Winged Angel and hit a German, keeping both men down. Ishii leaned into strikes from Kenny but can’t fire back strong enough due to his shoulder. Due to that, he pulled out V-Trigger of his own! A sliding lariat followed for two. Omega with the V-Tigger again only to run into a lariat for two. Ishii fought off One Winged Angel again, so Omega modified it into a huge German for two. Omega ducked a strike, hit a snap dragon suplex and another V-Trigger. Ishii countered his finish yet again and tried a brainbuster, but Omega got free and got two on a reverse rana. GOODNESS! Ishii then found the best One Winged Angle counter ever, turning it into a stunner for two. He got the crowd going and hit a lariat for an absurd near fall. Finally, a brainbuster (that Kenny was clearly still fighting to get out of) put him away for another upset. What a match. That was tremendous in so many ways. Ishii sold like a champ and Omega impressed once again. He’s on the best run of his career by a mile, while Ishii continues to be the best and most consistent performer in NJPW (and possibly the world) over the past few years. I loved that the One Winged Angel was protected again. He shouldn’t hit it until using it to win the title. Despite this going 30 minutes, it never felt long and had me on the edge of my seat. Ishii/Omega >>>> Omega/Okada. ****¾
Overall: 7/10. I thought this show was gonna be another disappointment. The first half didn’t do much for me, with only the LIDJ tag barely standing out. The opposite of night one happened though, where the second half delivered. Juice/Yujiro was about as good as we could get from a Yujiro match. SANADA/YOSHI was a great back and forth battle, while Shibata/Suzuki didn’t quite live up to expectations but still managed to rule at times. Then that main event. Ishii and Omega put on some incredible performances and delivered a must-see match that was my favorite in NJPW this year and tied for the highest rating I’ve given out in 2017. The tournament is wide open with favorites like Suzuki, Tanahashi, Omega and Elgin gone.
